


Company Mix Up

by OneLetteredWonder



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, M/M, Steven Universe - Freeform, cartoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 18:37:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13932915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneLetteredWonder/pseuds/OneLetteredWonder
Summary: Thomas adores cartoons and his dream to work with a company that produces such magic is a reality. Sadly, one branch of the studio is failing and no one can figure out why. He volunteers himself to check on the building and get to the bottom of the problem.





	1. Chapter 1

“Mr. Sanders!” Thomas smiles as he’s approached by one of the workers to the studio building he has decided to visit. They shake his hand, almost as nervous as he is. They go on talking about how honored they are to have him visiting to the point it almost makes him uncomfortable.

“Lets get this tour going shall we?” They say finally and Thomas takes a relived breath. He’s been crunching some numbers. This branch of the business has performed poorly for the last 3 quarterly reports. He’s here to figure out why.

“I’ll introduce you to some people in each department that should be able to help you out,” The guide tells him.

“Awesome, that should help a lot,” He tells them and they lead him on.

He follows his guide up and down stairs and into the elevator, being explained to where everything is and where he can find people that he needs to talk to. His first stop is in the director’s department, hoping to talk to someone in charge about how the projects are being run and executed. His hope turns hopeless.

Papers are scattered everywhere with no rhyme or reason that he can tell in the office he’s shown. There are scribbles from what he can see on every paper with notes that make little to no sense. The large whiteboard in the corner of the room has ideas splashed about with no connections.

“Mr. Sanders this is our director, Roman Sharming.” The director at hearing other people flips around from their desk with a dashing smile already on their face. Thomas is only slightly surprised by the way they gracefully slide over their desk to give an over the top bow to him. Thankfully they hold out their hand for a proper shake after.

“Pleasure to meet you,” The director says gallantly.

“Likewise,” Is all Thomas manages as more flowery language like this Roman seems to like. There’s a brief description of why Thomas is there and Roman claps his hands happily, not entirely seeing that he could be a problem with the way his office looks a tornado hit it.

“I look forward to it,” He says and sweeps back to his desk to continue doing.. whatever he had been doing. Thomas is hsure that if Roman had a cape, it would flap behind him but the suit does a good enough job. He follows his guide, not without one last peek at the eccentric personality running the show. Part of him almost wonders how they got such a position with they way they seem to run things.

He’s brought next to the advertising and viewer possibilities level of the building. It’s far more organized than he would have expected. The guide drawls on but Thomas is far too focused on the extremely alphabetized story boards in each room and how any one has any kind of thought being so cooped up.

“Ah Logan!” Thomas snaps his head back to where he’s walking, almost missing the turn to take into another office. This one even more organized than the others. The person behind the desk looks up with a sharp look in their eyes and a crisp air about them.

“This is Mr. Sanders, he will be checking in with us.” The guide says and Logan stands to shake his hand firmly and politely. 

“We appreciate the time you’re taking to come and see what is the problem with our establishment, if there is anything you need to know please do not hesitate to ask and I will be as much help as I can.” Logan says somehow  _not_  tripping over his words.

“That’s very good to know, thank you,” Thomas says to him. With that Logan nods once, finally, and turns to go back to his desk with a stuffy attitude. Thomas is even more stuck behind with thoughts burning in his mind. He knew this side of the company is not up to par. Having met Roman already, he kind of figured a lack of organization might be the problem, but seeing one of the most fluid parts of every other part of the company so locked up gives him doubts.

“And of course out animation department,” The guide’s smile is slowly slipping with the way Thomas has stopped smiling as well, finding little things wrong in small ways that really add up. The animators are working tirelessly, cups of coffee on every desk as well as small flowers in little vases. Thomas raises an eye to those but does not question. Yet.

He’s brought to a door which the guide knocks on, only to jump at the speed in which the door opens.

“Oh hello!” The bubbly person on the other side says. Their smile is strained.

“Patton this is Mr. Sanders, he is here to check on the company.” Barely does the guide stop talking does Patton squeal happily.

“Oh that’s so lovely! Thank you so much for caring about us, if there’s anything you need-”

“Thank you Patton.” The guide says and turns to lead Thomas somewhere else. His heartstrings pull at the dejected noise Patton makes at the rejection. He offers the animator a small smile which is returned far more so than he thought. They slowly close the door to their room and Thomas can barely make out the upset expression on their face.

“Patton is the resident talker, will go on and on if you let him,” The guide says as if warning Thomas to watch what he says. It doesn’t sit right in his stomach but there’s not much he can do just yet.

“And lastly our HR department,” The guide says as if it’s the most impressive. Thomas sees very few people about and the one they approach looks anything but happy to be there.

“Virgil,” At the call of their name the mentioned jumps in their seat and whips around like something might try to attack them. They flick their eyes between Thomas and the guide with panic in their face before taking a deep breath that looks like it does little for their nerves.

“Can I help you?” They ask bitterly now having gotten over their fright but still looking between Thomas and his guide frantically. 

“This is Mr Sanders,” The guide turns to Thomas then.

“If you need files on anyone, Virgil here will be able to help you with that.” The explanation is simple but the distressed look on Virgil’s face makes Thomas think otherwise. It makes him curious. He barely knows Virgil yet he’s surprised to why someone who seems so adverse to anyone, decided to be in HR.

It leaves Thomas in a mess of confusion. After being lead to a temporary office, the guide lets him be and Thomas pulls out his phone, hitting the button to dial a number he knows by heart.

“Mr Jungle, here to assist with your vine needs,” The voice says and Thomas snorts.

“You and I both know that is not your last name,” He smiles into the phone and Joan laughs on the other end. A trusted adviser and long time friend. Once the giggles have calmed down Thomas tells of who he met and what he saw.

“Sounds mixed up,” Joan says. Thomas laments on the idea, wishing luck when Joan has something to take care of. It leaves Thomas to sit in an empty office and empty ideas on what to do. With his head in his hands, as much as he wishes to find the problem quickly, things just got a lot more difficult. 


	2. Chapter 2

“So let me get this clear as the crystal palace,” Roman says. Thomas sits in the chair across from him with some papers in his hands, looking through them as best he can with how unorganized they are. Dates are all over the place and none of the pages he holds actually coincide with each other.

“You think, that if I clean up a bit, I would be able to figure out how things work better?” There’s a clear, almost harsh, disbelief in Roman’s voice that has Thomas giving him a deadpan look.

“This place is a mess,” He says with a small smirk on his face. Roman groans dramatically and flops to his desk chair, almost having it roll out from under him. Though Thomas has a sneaking suspicion Roman would have played it off pretending he meant to do that.

“But this is how I get my ideas!” The director complains. Thomas raises his eyebrows at the outburst. Roman continues to pout but shuffles papers into piles, even if the piles have no organization to them, it’s a start. Thomas of course helps as much as he can.

“How did you get involved with this place?” Thomas asks trying to make conversation while Roman tosses papers in files carelessly.

“I seemed to have a leadership air about me, and while all too true,” Roman’s boastful tone at the beginning of his sentence drops off to a groan of disgust. Thomas snickers, rifling through papers, sneaking peeks at ideas that Roman has written down. They all seem haphazard and far apart but bits are connected randomly.

“Do you like being director?” Thomas asks softly, trying not to pry into Roman’s life. But Roman drapes himself across the cabinets like it’s the only thing holding him up.

“Yes but it’s so boring~” He complains. Thomas, though he should be upset to hear such a thing from his director, finds a smile on his face.

“You need some excitement in your life.”

“YES!” Thomas jumps and almost throws the papers in his hands at Roman’s shout. The director is now on the floor making the worst paper angel Thomas has ever seen.

“Ugh that would so amazing!” Roman throws an arm over his face and whines. Thomas just rolls his eyes, secretly taking one of Roman’s papers with one of his more extensive ideas into his pocket for safe keeping.

“You work on..” Thomas gestures about.

“This. I need to go pay a visit to Logan,” Thomas smiles still as Roman groans at the mention of his co-worker. It takes him a bit to remember exactly where he needs to go but following the sounds of meticulous mumbling helps. A soft knock on the door and Logan looks up from writing whatever to look at him.

“Ah Mr. Sanders, what can I do for you?” Logan makes a tepee with his fingers on his desk looking like a picture perfect like a business man. Thomas walks farther into Logan’s space, admiring the way it looks. The feel however is too constricting for the place that’s supposed to becoming up with magical ideas.

“I was just wondering, how you ended up here?” He brushes his fingers past some papers, mindlessly picking them up to look at them. Logan bristles at his stuff being ruffled and adjusts his glasses.

“I had been offered the position after coming up with a solution to a problem that had been previously gone unanswered.” Is his succinct answer. He fiddles with his glasses more and stands.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Logan’s voice is clipped. Thomas lets out a sigh.

“You’re so organized,” Is what he ends up saying. Logan blinks at him, glancing about his space. He levels Thomas with a confused stare.

“Well yes, a cluttered space leaves for a cluttered mind. Not wanting to hinder myself I keep everything in a tight order.” Logan furrows his brows as if this is something everyone should know. Thomas smiles as best he can but it’s not as real as it could be.

“Don’t you think a little mess could help your creating process?” He asks. Logan opens his mouth to speak then closes it sharply. Once again he blinks at Thomas in confusion.

“That is..” He starts but does not finish. Thomas smiles at him, looking again at some of the papers on top of the cabinets. He spies one for a plan for a new show and takes it carefully.

“I don’t want to hinder you but do you really like doing this?” This time his question really throws Logan for a loop. The supposed creator glares without malice.

“I suppose you would like an answer to that question, but I’m afraid answering that might put my job on the line and I can not do that.” Logan answers and Thomas actually laughs. It seems to confuse Logan more but he bids Thomas goodbye when he leaves.

Though he’s more confused than ever, Thomas almost feels accomplished. He runs his fingers over the two pieces of papers he nicked from the both the director and head of creative ideas and put in his pocket. He’s not sure about Logan but Roman sure won’t miss it. His mind is whirling for ideas when his stomach grumbles.

Guess it’s time for lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

He spent some time wandering around before heading down a level to where he thinks his destination is. There’s a soft smell of flowers and Thomas ends up smiling to himself at the simple thing. He knocks softly on the door, not having to be kept waiting long. Patton breaks out into a brilliant smile at seeing him.

“Mr. Sanders!” He cheers waving his hands about as if he doesn’t know where to put them, he ends up clasping them tightly and smushing them to his chest. Thomas smiles at him gently.

“You can call me Thomas if you like,” He offers. Patton bites his lips and practically shakes in his spot. It makes Thomas wonder how much interaction Patton actually gets if just a simple act of kindness can bring him to such happiness.

“I was about to head out and get something for lunch, would you like to join me?” Thomas is not prepared for the small high pitched scream that exits Patton’s mouth. He’s also not prepared for the animator to throw himself at Thomas in a death crushing hug.

“Yes, let me save my things,” Patton says with a wild look in his eyes. Thomas catches his breath as Patton saves and closes down some of the programs he had been using. He’s still shaking when he closes his work space door to look at Thomas expectantly. 

“Where would you like to go? I’m still a little unfamiliar with the area.” Patton takes the chance to link his arm with Thomas and drag him out of the building. He’s rambling a mile a minute it’s hard to keep track of what he’s actually saying. Only when they are sitting in a little hole in the wall cafe does Patton take a breath.

“I just- I’m so excited to be spending time with you!” Patton coos as soon as he finishes swallowing a large bite of sandwich. His smile is close to blinding. Thomas hasn’t actually said much yet, just smiling at the fact Patton is talking so much. Talking like he never is able to.

“I’m excited to get to know you too,” He says and Patton’s whole being shakes, a soft giggle escaping him.

“It’s so nice to be out of that room and be with someone!” Patton keeps talking. His words catch Thomas off guard. The words of the guide who introduced them comes back to him.

“Do you talk to a lot of the others?” Thomas asks him. For one of the first times, Patton deflates from his bubbly attitude. He fiddles with his fingers and the smile on his face isn’t as bright.

“They don’t really.. really like to?” Patton laughs but there’s no real humor in it. His smile falls quickly. The silence that comes between them turns awkward. When Patton tries to blow past his feelings to try and make it seems he’s not upset does Thomas speak.

“Would you rather be somewhere where you can talk to people?” He asks softly. Patton sighs dreamily and nods his head with an easy smile on his face. Soft little laughs escape him as he gets lost in his thoughts.

“Wouldn’t that be nice though? To spend so much time with people instead in my little animation room?” Patton looks to him with a sparkle in his eyes and Thomas can’t help but smile back at him. He knows how the animators work, they tend to work on a section each and then put it all together. It can be very solitary. The lack of contact seems to be getting to Patton more than most.

“How did you end up here?” Thomas asks him then. Patton hums and finally starts eating again which unknowingly makes Thomas feel better. Instead of giving an answer, Patton shrugs with his mouth full but smiles anyway. He may say something but it’s muffled by his food. Thomas takes a bite of his own.

“I’m just here!” Patton says once his mouth is empty. Thomas opens his mouth to maybe say something but only a laugh comes out. He and Patton end their lunch in a laughing fit.

He makes sure to walk Patton back to his desk, taking the time to relax and spend some extra time talking to him. His eyes scan the little office, spying a small puppy themed pad of paper in the corner. Patton is busy going off about something he doesn’t notice Thomas picking up the pad and smiling at the list of things to do for the office to make the others smile.

“I will see you tomorrow Patton,” Thomas says and Patton looks like he genuinely believes that. They share a smile and a wave and Thomas is on his way. There’s a plan in his mind he’s just unsure if it will work. He heads towards HR to see if their files will help him with anything. They may not but there’s only one way to find out.

He carefully enters the HR department knowing that last time he nearly scared one of the employees half to death. He peeks around corners till he finds the HR representative. They have thick headphones over their head, nodding their head softly to the beat of the music they are listening to. Music that their computer screen shows is playing, open to a creation site

Quietly Thomas leans from around their cubicle to see what they are working on since their computer is being used. His eyes widen at seeing them doodling on a piece of sketch paper. The character they made is simple, a little silly, but adorable all the same. Thomas smiles to himself and knocks on the cubicle wall.

They don’t hear him right away but Thomas knocks again so the wall shakes just a little bit to get their attention. They rip their headphones off, scandalized they got caught.

“Uhm,” They say. Thomas waves and Virgil scrambles to hide his things, opening up his computer to a more proper site and trying to make it look like he had been doing something work related.

“Relax! I’m not here to get you in trouble,” Thomas tries to reassure them but they just stare at him without believing him. When he steps forward, Virgil rolls back in his chair. So Thomas stops moving.

“I just came by to pick up a few files if you can help me?” He tries to be peaceful. Virgil stares at him for a little while longer then clears his throat awkwardly.

“Uh yeah, I can, I guess,” He says though he doesn’t sound happy about it. Thomas rattles off the names and Virgil pulls up their files for him.

“What were you drawing?” Thomas asks and once again Virgil jerks to stare at him. Thomas shuffles his feet now feeling awkward too.

“None of your business,” Virgil snaps at him, handing him the files forcefully then cringing, regretting his tone.

“Hey I didn’t mean to-” Thomas cuts himself off, not exactly sure what he didn’t mean to do. Virgil glares at him with his hand twitching his pencil back and forth.

“I just, wanted to ask you something,” He manages to say and panic clearly flashes across Virgil’s face. He swallows hard but says nothing so Thomas takes the chance to continue talking.

“How did you end up in HR? You don’t seem to like people,” He asks as nicely as he can. Virgil grimaces and rubs at the back of his neck but the tense look in his shoulders drop. It makes Thomas relax too knowing Virgil isn’t on edge around him, at least for now.

“I don’t know, I just, got here, somehow,” He explains though it does little to do that. He shrugs his shoulders and looks at Thomas with a not-so-smile on his face. Thomas smiles at him and thanks him for the files.

“You art is really good,” He says before he fully leaves. Virgil shifts in his seat uncomfortably.

“Thanks,” He mumbles and Thomas is pretty proud of the fact he gets at least a shy hand lift goodbye when he finally leaves Virgil to his ‘working’. He goes to his makeshift office and puts Patton’s note next to Roman’s and Logan’s. With as much detail as he can remember he also writes down a description of Virgil’s character to add to the pile.

Thomas paces, taps his fingers to his chin and the desk and anything, running his hands through his hair trying to figure out what he’s trying to put together. The files are not much help, just telling him what he already knows. Roman is wild and unorganized, Logan is strict and too organized. Patton gets distracted by others and tends to not work and Virgil wish others would leave him alone to work though his job involves other people. 

He sighs and flops down to the desk. He has a plan, he just hopes it will work. He calls someone in the building and reserves a conference room for a few weeks. This project is going to take some time. He just hopes it works.


	4. Chapter 4

For the rest of the week Thomas spent his days switching off between helping Roman clean his office, helping Logan mess up his office, making sure Patton had someone to eat lunch with, and even taking the time to head to HR and talk to Virgil. He didn’t have to he knows, but he could feel it that somewhere, they had something to do with the branch not performing as well as it could.

He didn’t want to say they are the ‘problem’, but they sure didn’t seem the best suited to where they are. It got him thinking and scheming for a solution. He tried just helping them do their job but it still ended awkward or with lackluster results.

So he decided to enact Plan B.

Or plan C, he’s not sure which letter he and Joan gave this plan but he likes it a lot more than firing someone.

Thomas puts his hands on his hips, papers in small piles in front of him and the pieces he sort of, kind of, took/stole are front and center. He nods proudly to himself then leaves the conference room to skip on up to the director’s office. He knocks on the open door and Roman spins to face him.

“Thomas! How are you this fabulous day?” His voice booms.

“Pretty good! Hey can I talk to you a second?” He asks and Roman agrees easily. Thomas tells him to meet him in the proper conference room in a few minutes and Roman smugly walks towards the area while Thomas skips out to find the next person in his plan.

He knocks on Logan’s door, waiting patiently for him to open it. He does with a small quick smile before turning to the side to let Thomas into his office space but Thomas stays where he is.

“Logan would you be able to join me for conference right quick?” He asks. Logan gives him an odd look.

“Is this the kind of quick that ends up taking the whole day?” Thomas grins sheepishly and Logan sighs.

“Give me a few minutes to make sure my day is cleared and I will join you.” He says and Thomas tells him which conference room, thanking Logan once again for opening up his day for this. Logan just rolls his eyes.

Unlike the leisurely pace it took Logan to open the door, Patton is in front of him quick and wrapping him in a hug. He’s bursting with energy.

“Thomas! It’s so nice to see you again. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?” Thomas laughs and holds up a hand to try and get Patton to be a little more quiet just for a second for him to get his own question is out.

“We can talk about that later, but for right now, can you help me out?” He asks and Patton actually jumps up out of excitement. Together they pack up one of Patton’s portable work laptops for the conference that Patton will not stop asking him questions about. Thomas just smiles at him.

Instead of going right up to the conference room, Thomas brings Patton with him to the HR department.

“Hey Virgil,” Thomas calls softly to startle the representative slightly less. Virgil still jumps a little but no where near as bad as he could. He eyes both him and Patton suspiciously.

“I wanted to ask you if you would join us for a conference?” Thomas asks softly. Patton nods his head but keeps his mouth shut sensing the delicate environment. Virgil raises an eyebrow at him.

“What for?” He’s skeptical. Thomas sighs.

“I have a project that I think you could be the designer for,” He says and though designing things is mostly supposed to be Patton’s job, the animator seems completely okay with his job being offered up.

“What.” Virgil deadpans at him, a glare on his face now. 

“You’re an amazing drawer Virgil, and I think you would be the best for this project.” Thomas says. Patton nods his head though Thomas knows he’s never seen anything Virgil’s drawn. Virgil shrinks in on himself.

“You don’t.. really want me,” He grimaces and Patton gasps.

“Of course we do!” He turns to Thomas. “Who else is we?” There’s a doofy smile on his face and Thomas snorts. He goes back to Virgil who is already shaking his head for rejection.

“I really-” He doesn’t finish his sentence. Thomas sighs again and nods his head.

“Okay, I understand, I still do think you’re the best for the job though. If,” Thomas takes a step towards him and places a gentle hand on Virgil’s shoulder. He flinches away from the touch but not enough to fully get away from it.

“If you decide to join us, you’re more than welcome to,” Thomas takes a pen and writes down which conference room they are in. He smiles and waves to Virgil as he and Patton depart. Patton waves with his whole body and Virgil actually manages a small wave of his hand and turns to cower at his desk just as Thomas starts towards the conference room himself.

“So what  _are_  we doing?” Patton asks for the 15th time. Thomas gives him a smirk and just holds the door open to the room where Roman and Logan are already waiting with arms crossed and pouts on their faces.

“You didn’t tell me Mr. Tight Lid would be here,” Roman accuses Thomas right away. Patton shyly takes a seat next to Logan who pushes at his glasses.

“Mr. Sanders is not obligated to tell you anything considering your way of keeping information is all over the room.” Logan quips back and Roman looks ready to stand and challenge him to a duel. He actually does stand when Logan interrupts whatever he may say.

“Though I shall admit to being curious myself,” He then turns his glare to Thomas who stands taller. Patton gives him his full attention and Roman slowly takes a seat, still giving Logan a bad look.

“In the week I’ve been here, I’ve noticed some strange things with you all,” He begins. Roman scoffs hard and offended. Logan pushes at his glasses while Patton covers his mouth.

“Nothing bad of course, just, something a little off, I am proposing a project for you all to work on.” Thomas explains and hands out the little stacks in front of him. Logan rifles through it.

“These are my efficiency notes,” Thomas doesn’t miss the annoyed tone in his voice.

“That’s my idea!” Roman stands again, shaking the papers like they might change if he shakes them hard enough.

“Aww you think flowers on the desk is sweet?” Patton gives Thomas heart eyes as he looks at the motivational aspects. Thomas smiles at him then gives Logan and Roman a more professional look.

“Those notes that I took from you, should have come from the other based on your titles.” They have the sense to look a little sheepish at being called out like so. Logan sighs and tents his hands on the desk.

“So what exactly are you proposing.” It’s more of a statement than question that Logan asks. Thomas takes a deep breath.

“I am proposing that you create Roman’s idea into actuality.” That earns him a cheer from Roman and Patton but a struggling sigh from Logan who once more pushes up his glasses.

“How are we going to do that if you just insinuated that our roles are wrong?” He says. Patton’s cheers stop and he gets that kicked puppy dog look in his eyes. Roman groans at having his joy squished.

“You switch,” Thomas tells him like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Logan you will be in charge of planning and making sure things are done in an orderly manner,” Though he had his doubts, Logan sits a little taller at the idea of being in charge.

“Roman, bring your ideas, all of them, that’s your job.” Roman is all too ready to do just that.

“Patton I’m going to need you to bring general thought to the table as well as keeping spirits high,” Patton wiggles in his seat.

“These spirits will be flying like ghosts on helium!” He says and Roman snorts. Logan rolls his eyes then gives Thomas another questioning look.

“If Patton is to be in charge of frivolities, then who is going to-” The door opens to cut Logan off and they all turn just in time to see Virgil shutting the door by resting his back against it. He shifts awkwardly, hiding behind his hair, and glaring at the ground when he finds them all looking at him. Thomas goes to him, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.

“Virgil, to answer your question Logan, will be in charge of design animation,” Thomas gives Virgil a reassuring smile which is hardly returned. Patton claps his hands.

“I’m so glad you decided to join us!” His voice could make flowers grow. Virgil just takes a seat next to Roman who is still standing. His entire body hunched in a circle, wanting nothing more than to not be seen. Thomas slides him one of the tiny stacks of papers and Virgil takes the distraction thankfully.

“This is. Odd,” Logan says. Patton giggles.

“But it’s going to be fun!” He gets a little too close to Logan who adjusts his glasses at the sudden proximity to his person. He clears his throat.

“Well I suppose,” He’s almost stammering. He manages to collect himself and turn to Roman.

“What is the idea we are to work with?” He has a pen in his hand at the ready on a notebook Thomas swear he pulled out of no where. He takes a seat as Roman’s wide smile come full view. He swivels his chair and gracefully puts a foot on it to pose. His stomp causes Virgil to jump in his seat.

“It’s about a boy who has magic powers, but the powers are given to him by his mother. And she passes leaving him to live with his father figure and the mother’s friends who also have powers but that are different than the ones she had and there’s an entire hierarchy and war that went on and there are secrets around every corner and the boy is trying to learn how to-”

“Breathe Roman,” Patton says softly with a warm smile on his face. Roman takes a dramatic breath in, and launches right back into his idea. He waves his arms and begins to pace around the room, sliding on the floor to be dramatic and unleashing every idea he’s had. Thomas can’t help but laugh at bits, remembering random statements from papers he helped Roman sort not so long ago.

“And of course it’s hard for him to do so because he’s never known her and he has no idea what he’s supposed to do or anything and it doesn’t help her friends are hiding things from him.” Roman takes another deep breath and stops talking for a moment, shocking everyone in the room that he’s silent.

“That’s wonderful!” Patton exclaims reaching across the table. Roman laughs boisterously and takes one of Patton’s hands to squeeze it.

“I know isn’t it?” He boasts. Logan flips a few papers, most of them in his hand notebook, taking notes on the plot lines and character aspects. He then rifles through the stack Thomas gave him to the back page.

“This character description, did you read it Roman?” Logan asks as he scans the page. Everyone flips to that page and Virgil sinks, not before giving Thomas a look of annoyance, and panic.

“It sounds cute!” Patton says looking to them all. Roman glares at the page most of all before dropping it.

“I  _had_  pictured them to be a bit more,” He waves his hand about. “Fluffy.” He says and Patton snorts. Thomas gives Virgil an encouraging look. With an exasperated sigh Virgil pulls out his sketch book and flips it open to drop it on the table to the design he drew, the one described in their stack. Patton coos while Logan nods his head approvingly.

It’s Roman who gives the most pause, dragging the sketch book closer to himself to scrutinize it. Virgil twitches, body ready to bolt at any second. Roman pushes it back to him, leaning far into his personal space.

“Can you make his hair fluffier?” He asks, deadly serious. Virgil slowly takes his pencil out and his sketch book to mess with the design. It’s silent as he works.

“THAT!” Roman shouts and promptly makes Virgil draw a long line across his sketch book, almost ruining the design. He glares up at Roman.

“What the hell?” He asks but for the most part goes ignored by the creative mastermind. Patton offers him a reassuring hand and Thomas does the same. Virgil decided to sulk.

“This is exactly what it should be! Wonderful!” He cheers, twirling around with the book in his hands. At the praise however, the beginning of a smile makes it’s way to Virgil’s face.

“Now that we have at least the main character design, shall we work on the others?” Logan suggests. Roman pauses his laughter to give Virgil back his book a lot more gently this time. Virgil awaits impatiently for Roman to describe his characters.

And Roman does describe them. In extreme length and extreme detail.

Virgil is lucky Logan is taking notes and Patton reminds Roman to slow down sometimes otherwise his sketches would be way more off. He can’t get them all down right away but Logan goes to copy all his notes for them all.

The conference ends on that note. With Virgil taking the designs to work on sketches and Logan to work on a cohesive plot line from the scattered idea Roman gave. Patton is just happy to be included.

“This is amazing,” The bubbly not so much an animator any more says to him after the long conference is done with. Thomas laughs and bumps him playfully.

“Glad you get to be working in a closer group?”

“So much!” Patton gives him a quick hug and runs off. Thomas is left to his small office with more papers with him and a clearer picture in mind as to how this little project will work out.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, when their scheduled conference time comes around, Virgil is one of the first people in the room. Thomas smiles at him when he enters the room and takes a huffy seat in the chair he claimed last time. He pulls out his sketch book and opens it up on the table for Thomas to see.

“I spent most of yesterday on them instead of doing what I’m supposed to be paid to do,” He snarks. Thomas laughs but it makes way for an adoring gasp seeing the designs Virgil has created for some of the characters. Their designs are cute and round, simple, and perfect.

“These are amazing,” He pours over the sketch book, noticing every detail. Virgil hides a smile in his hand.

“Oh can I see?” Patton enters and comes over quickly to look over Thomas’s shoulder. He lets out one of those squeals Thomas has gotten quite used to. He’s fawning over them and over Virgil immediately. He picks out his favorite character and poses like them on the table.

“What are you doing?” Logan asks once he opens the door. Roman laughs loudly behind him and actually pushes Logan out of the way to enter the room. Virgil shrinks when Roman picks up the sketch book boldly to look at the characters.

“Marvelous!” His voice is booming. Logan looks over his shoulder with a critical eye.

“They certainly fit the theme of the idea, just enough realism to counter act the ridiculousness,” He gives a pointed look at Roman at the word ridiculous but Roman pays no attention to him.

“I like the star pattern that you managed to work on every character.” Logan takes a seat and pulls out a large stack of papers, spreading them out and organizing them as much as he can with the limited space. His comment makes Roman hold the book closer to his face before dropping it to the table and practically falling on Virgil.

“That’s brilliant!” The sudden contact makes Virgil shrink even more away from Roman and let out a noise that vaguely resembles a hiss. Roman backs off but not without giving Virgil a wounded look. Patton butts in.

“Now that we have designs, how does this all start?” He asks to try and keep the active train going. It’s Logan who has the answer. He stands to point to all the papers he has spread out, an accurate and detailed time line of all the events Roman had sputtered off the other day. 

“We could start by showing parts of the war, so this way the audience gets an accurate story of what has happened.”

“Sure lets just traumatize them and think the show is just a war documentary with pastel warriors,” Virgil actually speaks up then to counteract Logan’s idea. He hasn’t said much before, twitching in his seat and opening his mouth just to close it again. They all turn to stare at him but for once Virgil isn’t shying away from their stares, if anything he has determination on his face.

“If you show kids that first thing they will not continue watching.” He says forcefully. The others look like they want to reject the idea but there’s not much they can say. Thomas, despite the snag in productivity, smiles at them trying to all work together.

“Maybe we could start with the main character trying to summon his power?” Patton says softly. Logan adjusts his glasses.

“It would be a easy introduction and pique interest in the kids as to what the powers are?” Patton goes on, giving the others soft smiles as he does. Virgil relaxes from his fighting posture as the others seem to go along with the idea.

“What does his power look like?” Logan is rifling through notes, finding that he has no description of what that is. Roman puffs up his chest proudly.

“That the thing though, what if it’s not a standard power like the others have?” His tone takes a turn towards dramatic as he tells of his idea, relating it back to a detail far back in Logan’s notes. Virgil starts to scribble.

“You’re going to need more than a history line,” Thomas interrupts. They all turn to him, minds freezing as they had all been to focused on getting a line in order. Thomas folds his hands on the table.

“You need to get a pilot episode,” The explanation sends off a flurry of motions. Logan pulls out story board papers and Patton his portable work laptop which he ends up sliding over to Virgil. He kicks Roman out of his seat to sit beside him and work on how to animate the characters that have been created. Roman is working with Logan on a quick explanatory pilot.

“What are their names?” Patton looks up from the computer with a puzzling look. Roman opens his mouth only to shut it with an equally puzzling look on his face.

“You didn’t think of names?” Logan rounds on him. Roman sputters and waves his arms about.

“I don’t see you coming up with anything Pocket Protector!” He shouts. Logan groans and pushes his glasses back on his face. In their squabble they don’t notice Virgil hiding names he has already written down next to the characters in his sketch book silently. Patton does.

“How about Steven?” He suggests. Virgil gives him an annoyed look at having his secret names being known but it gives Roman and Logan pause.

“That could work, it’s a simple name for a simple character.” Logan writes it on the story board cards. Roman slides over to them and the other names Virgil has written down.

“How did you come up with these?” He asks far more gently than he does anything else. Virgil shrugs.

“I don’t know, it just sounded cool to name them like that? Like linked to their powers or whatever,” He says and tries to continue working but Roman leaning over him is making him nervous. 

“I like it!” Roman makes his opinion loudly known and goes off explaining how it could work. Logan snaps at him to slow down once he’s able to write notes on the characters again and not work on the story board. Patton laughs and excuses himself for a moment. Not before giving Virgil a small squeeze on his arm for encouragement.

“Virgil are you able to design powers like that? If not then we can figure something out, but it would fit better to have your style to it,” Logan asks with his nose buried in notes.

“Yeah I can.. here, actually,” Virgil turns the computer around and shows them the small detailed power weapons he managed to get digitized. Logan nods approvingly with a barest of smiles on his face.

“Oh this is exciting,” Roman is beaming looking at their progress, knowing his idea is the forefront of it all. They get lost in their work when Patton comes back with food.

“Lunch time!” He announces, effectively ending their conference for the day.


	6. Chapter 6

“Let’s get this party started!” Roman announces when he walks into the conference room. Logan already has the story board prepped up on a pin board and Patton has the computer open. Patton is the one that stops him.

“Where is Virgil?” He asks looking around him but not finding their designer anywhere. Roman lets out a soft huff ready to continue without the gloomy-gus. They have been working for a week or so now, left to their own devices since Thomas had to return to his job. While Virgil has made some fantastic ideas and designs, his attitude leaves something to be desired.

“We can’t do this without him,” Logan points out and Roman groans dramatically.

“I’ll go get him,” He volunteers as tribute and exists the conference room to travel to the depths of the HR department to find the one who admittedly, designed his ideas better than he thought could be done. He’s grumbling to himself when he gets to the right floor, tempted to shout for Virgil carelessly but a sobbing noise stops any and all of his motions.

He hears the noise again and never wanting to leave someone in distress, follows the noise as silently as he feet will allow him. He’s peeking into cubicles, finding no one at any desk. Except for one. The sobbing leads him right to the person he had been tasked to find.

He stares dumbly at Virgil hunched at his desk with his hands to his face. His sketch book is open in front of him and looks like it’s been marred to death by his pencil and the eraser. His body shakes and another gasp escapes him. It makes Roman’s heart squeeze.

“Virgil?” He calls softly but the reaction he gets is no where near soft. Virgil flips and almost falls out of his seat. He rubs at his eyes harshly and practically throws his sketch book away from prying eyes.

“What?” He bites out, trying to be intimidating but all Roman feels is heartache seeing such a picture in front of him. He steps closer and before Virgil can tell him no, flips open the sketch book to a crude drawing of one of the more powerful characters in Roman’s idea.

“What is going on?” He asks, putting down the book and dropping to one knee to make himself seem less threatening to Virgil. He doesn’t get an answer right away. Virgil is refusing to look at him, refusing to do much of anything. So Roman scoots a little closer and takes one of Virgil’s hands in his to provide comfort.

Virgil attempts to take his hand away but there’s no real effort in his tugs. Roman holds it tighter.

“Tell me what is the matter,” It’s a semi-order. Roman isn’t too sure Virgil will answer such a thing, seeming more like the kind of person who would never answer out of spite. Virgil curls in on himself and his hand turns to a death grip on Roman’s.

“I can’t get it right,” He mumbles. Roman rubs gentle circles around his wrist to try and ease his nerves.

“I’ve tried so damn hard to get it right and I  _can’t,”_ Virgil’s voice breaks as another soft sob rips through it.

“I can’t do anything,” Is what Virgil says next in the smallest whisper. It sends Roman’s blood boiling without reason.

“How dare you!” Roman accuses without connecting his brain to mouth filter. Virgil peeks at him and Roman glares at him.

“How dare you speak to yourself like that with all that you have done!” He goes on. Virgil slowly lifts his head, wondering if he heard Roman correctly.

“Your designs are spectacular and you think you can’t do anything? What kind of injustice is this!” Roman raises his voice as well as himself to a standing position. He yanks Virgil out of his chair and into his arms for a tight hug. It lasts only a quick second. Roman grabs the sketch book and never lets go of Virgil’s hand to drag him up to the conference room.

“You need to know that we love your designs and will help you in anything,” Roman stops on the stairs to point a finger in Virgil’s face making him blink and smack it away with a bit of the spark Roman had enjoyed. Sure maybe finding the negative sides to their ideas, but Virgil’s snark back at him held nothing of the animosity Logan usually brought against him.

“I know that it’s just-” Virgil cuts himself off and Roman doesn’t say anything, doesn’t let go, until he has his answers.

“What if I fuck it up?” Virgil asks and Roman gasps scandalized.

“What if you- Are you serious?” Virgil winces away from his shout but Roman is too far flabbergasted to think clearly.

“Stars above know you would never be able to mess up like that!” He waves the hand holding the sketch book about. He’s frustrated almost. Virgil, the one who managed to come up with the perfect design without even knowing what he would be designing, would never be able to mess up like that in his mind.

“I swear I will tell you every day for as long as I know you that you could never mess up that badly if I have to,” Roman is dragging him along again, acutely aware of the silence that follows him. He gets a glimpse of Virgil smiling to himself and feels prouder because of it. 

“Found him!” He makes another announcement as he enter the conference room, making sure Virgil is inside before closing the door.

“Good, now we can start, we need your work in order to go on,” Logan says and Patton nods along, pushing a muffin to Virgil from across the table. His little smile tells Virgil he knows he’s upset but won’t mention it. Roman stands proud.

“Now that we have everyone, lets get started,” He says and they set to work. 

–

“What if we have songs?” Patton gasps and claps his hands at Virgil’s suggestion. Roman smiles approvingly and more gently wraps an arm over Virgil’s shoulder.

“It would be beneficial to have a theme song as most cartoons do, as well as maybe a few in the show as you mentioned Steven is musically inclined.” Logan adds and writes a few things down on his papers. Patton smiles to them all.

“Maybe tomorrow? We’ve all been here an hour after were supposed to,” He points out. They scramble to at least somewhat organize their things but end up leaving most of it in the conference room, locked courtesy of Logan.

The productivity makes Roman buzz. He’s been aching to get something like this, to let his mind flow and wander and create idea after idea that can be all mixed together. It makes him feel alive. He enters his office, sits for a minute, just to get up and go down the stairs. 

As much as he would like to say Virgil’s break didn’t affect him, it had, it had dug deep inside him and he now needs to make sure their artist is okay. So he walks down the stairs quietly, listening and hoping not to hear the heartaching noises he heard before. He’s pleasantly surprised.

There’s music, splendidly soft coming from the corner where he knows Virgil’s desk is. When he manages to look from around the corner he can see an automated music generator on screen playing the light piano music. It’s accompanied by Virgil, playing the small song over and over again, and whispering words long with it.

“If I could, begin to be, half of what, you think of me, I could do about anything, I could even learn-” Here Virgil’s voice stops and he scratches at his head hazardously. Then he drops to his desk with his head buried in his arms. Roman knocks on his cubicle to get his attention. Virgil once again jumps.

“What are you working on?” There’s a smile on his face Roman couldn’t stop it if he tried. He had heard something magical. Virgil’s face is flushed and he twiddles with his fingers.

“Just something, maybe that we could, use. It’s dumb don’t worry about it.” Roman steps forward anyway to press play on the music Virgil created. It’s sweet and low. His eyes scan the tentative lyrics and hums them out with the tune.

“We have to use this, I hope you know that,” He says off handedly. Virgil tenses up.

“Really?”

“Of course! We can’t bear to let the world be ignorant of this magic!” He says with a flourish. Virgil melts a little to the compliment, letting Roman stick around as they work on some lyrics together. It causes Roman’s chest to pound but he chalks it up to happiness at seeing his ideas so inspiring. Maybe a little of it is the way Virgil whispers lyrics but he’ll ignore it for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Logan stands ramrod straight with his arms crossed over his chest, barely moving, and only doing so to make sure his glasses stay on his face. Roman is red faced angry in front of him with his arms up in the air.

“No that is positively preposterous and I refuse to condone such a thing,” He says plainly but there is a bite to his words that make Roman whine and turn from him to storm out. Virgil blinks at them both having frozen in his spot. Patton sighs and rubs the back of his neck.

“Maybe we should take a break for today?” His suggestion is followed through only by the fact Roman is gone and Virgil is quick to get out of the tense atmosphere without saying goodbye. Logan makes work of organizing papers with only Patton staying behind to help him.

He says a clipped goodbye and heads to his office space. It’s calming to see the cabinets not a mess and the walls in order. Nothing like their conference space which makes him twitch in annoyance. Once sitting he takes off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose to try and ease the headache that wishes to slaughter him though he’s sure the headache is really just Roman.

This project, while going exceptionally smoothly from what Logan originally thought would happen, still has it’s rough spots. Namely him and Roman disagreeing on which way the story should progress after certain episodes. If there should be character filler episodes, personal backgrounds, or go straight into more story. 

They had been doing so well. Virgil had half way come up with a credit song that had been soft and sweet and would elicit some gentle emotions. Patton at least had cried. Along with that song, Virgil and Patton begun work on an opening theme, something bubbly and cute to sing along with. They had plot lines and arcs.

Yet Roman frustrated him to no end. He understood and could see how much work Roman put into this idea, every thought calculated though it doesn’t seem that way on the outside. He knew he did work, but sometimes, it really felt like Roman only existed to needle him into annoyance.

“Logan?” A soft knock makes him snap his head up to see a blurry Patton in the doorway. He clears his throat and puts his glasses back on his face to see the other clearly. 

“What can I do for you Patton?” He asks carefully to not let his annoyance seep through and accidentally push it on Patton, the other doesn’t deserve that. Frankly, Patton is the easiest to get along with. Virgil doesn’t say much so he can’t get an accurate reading, but Patton’s existence seems to calm him down. Patton creeps closer with his hands twisted in front of his chest.

“I just came by to check on you, you seemed really upset,” Patton admits. Logan sighs harshly and goes back to pinch the bridge of his nose. He’s not even slightly surprised Patton is here to check on him.

“I will say that the session today had put me on edge, so to speak, but there is nothing I can do about it now. I will be fine by tomorrow,” He tells easily. Every word is more tight lipped than the last but that’s besides the point. Patton plays with his fingers, a disbelieving look on his face.

“Is there anything I can do to-”

“Not at the current moment, thank you,” Logan turns back to his desk and makes himself busy, pulling out some of the things they talked about during their chaotic session to try and make sense of it. He raises his head to Patton still in his office, this time with his arms crossed.

“Yes Patton?” Logan asks, confused as to why the other is still here. Patton huffs.

“You need to relax,” Is what he says. The words take Logan back and he ends up just staring at Patton because of it. He can barely say anything when Patton comes closer to him and takes a stack of yet to be used copy paper and throws a few pieces of it up in the air to scatter them about.

“What-”

“I will help you clean up later, but right now,” Patton takes some of them and smacks them on the desk hard in front of Logan causing him to jump.

“Throw them, have fun for once,” He’s nearly pleading. Logan swallows down whatever has lumped in his throat to take a single sheet of crisp white paper and toss it up in the air, hoping to satisfy Patton so he can be left alone. It makes a  _fwip_  noise as it hits the air and drifts down. Down right to hit Logan in the face.

Patton snorts and covers his mouth with his hands. For just a second a twitch of a smile appears on Logan’s face. He takes a deep breath.

“I understand what you are trying to do,” He begins but doesn’t get to say much else. Patton takes a few pieces and tosses them up, watching as they fall like they might be snowflakes on a winter day. The smile he then turns down to Logan does something odd to his chest. He clears his throat, adjusts his glasses, and throws another sheet of paper up in the air.

Patton is giggling wildly now as they take turns. That is until Logan takes a larger stack and purposefully tosses them to they land mostly on Patton. They go on and on until all the papers are gone and there’s a smile on Logan’s face.

“Feel better?” Patton asks with a soft hopeful look. Logan sighs and looks around him, and the very easy to clean up mess they have created. He nods.

“I’m not sure exactly how, or why that little entertainment has succeeded, but yes Patton, I do feel better.” At the words Patton shakes happily and drops to his knees to help gather the papers into a neat stack once more. Logan helps of course. They put them together on the desk and Patton smiles at him, soft and sweet.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” He says and skips out of the office leaving Logan to try and angle himself just a little more to see Patton for a second longer. When he really can’t see the other he flops to his desk chair. Mindlessly as he goes over his notes from the day, figuring out and even better plan, he runs his fingers up and down the stack of papers that scattered his floor. It’s calming for whatever reason, and Logan thinks fondly of the memory when he starts to feel frustrated later on.

Patton confuses him that much is true, but the confusion is laced with happiness he can’t quite place.


	8. Chapter 8

“I always thought, I might be bad, now I’m sure that its true, ‘cause, I think you’re so good, and I’m nothing like you,” Virgil’s hands shake as he plays the song he made on his computer and recorded his voice too, the final version ready to be used. His entire body is shaking actually. He poured a little too much emotion into this and it’s showing. Showing in a bad way.

“That was so pretty,” Patton is in tears by the time it’s done and he’s enveloped in a hug. It’s difficult to return the embrace but he manages fine enough. Once Patton lets go Roman slings an arm over his shoulder.

“It’s marvelous, which character is the singer?” He asks excitedly. Virgil shrugs, mentioning how it could be from any of them, maybe more some than others. It’s agreed unanimously that they have to keep it. Once the praise has passed Virgil opens up another file on his computer, a rough draft of an opener.

He plays the song before his nerves can tell him not to, his voice going along softly to the ukulele sound. A song about the main characters defeating evil, and them talking about what they believe in, what they will fight for. Piano joins in and he shrinks, making absolutely sure to not look up to see them staring at him.

When it’s over they again agree and Patton gives him another one of those hugs. He snickers into his hand.

“Okay so what if, and here me out here,” Patton says with a little smile. The rest wait patiently for him to talk.

“What if, this character is more than one?” He says pointing a design that may or not resemble Logan more so. While Logan and Virgil don’t quite understand Roman shouts.

“AH! That’s brilliant!” He says and directs Virgil to draw another power bit on their other hand. The idea rolls along and they have a first pilot ready to go, all that’s left is to get it all ready to be seen. Virgil may or not be panicking over it.

“What if I can’t do it?” He hisses through clenched teeth. Patton whines sadly at the thought and Roman scoffs.

“That’s absurd, I’ve seen you work, and it will get done,” Logan beats them to talking though, simply making sure he’s organized before leveling Virgil with an even look.

“For as long as you’ve been working with us, never have we denied an idea of yours without thought, or criticized your work to a point of deconstructing it entirely.” He goes on to the point where Virgil shrinks in his seat. Roman places a hand on his shoulder.

“We are all with you, and we can help you,” The reassurance helps Virgil take a deep breath. He’s working on the animation while Patton dips out. Roman and Logan are back to talking about story board with much more level heads than before, doing their best to work through their disagreements.

“I brought lunch!” Patton says once he enters the room again 20 minutes later. Every takes a collective sigh of happiness having forgotten how hungry they are.

“Is it okay if we all eat in here?” He asks before they can leave. Virgil has already settled into his spot, not willing to move for fear of breaking his concentration. Roman is more than willing to stick around.

“I don’t see why not.” Logan is sure to take a spread out napkin for a plate to not get crumbs over his papers. Patton smiles more so to himself and is sure to enjoy their company. In the middle of their meal does Thomas enter.

“You guys doing okay?” He asks with a crooked smile. Patton nods excitedly.

“Very much so, we are making a headway in progress and have nearly an entire plot line filled in.” Logan informs him. Roman is sure to fill him in on the details with Logan making sure he knows the important bits. Patton pipes in with some of the more emotional bits. Virgil keeps working, but he snorts when they say something funny.

“That’s awesome! Do you guys have a pilot ready?” There’s some nods and words of affirmation.

“Nice! I’ll tell some of the board and we can get a viewing soon,” And with that Thomas leaves. Patton sighs happily, the sound cut off by the wide eyed look of terror in Virgil’s eyes. No one else seems to notice so Patton slides his hand across the table and it’s locked in a death grip.

“Can you imagine?” Roman hops up from his chair to put his foot on said chair. He grabs Virgil’s other hand like a dashing prince and smirks at him.

“Picture it~” He coos and drags his hand across the air like they can see what he’s seeing.

“Our names and our work all put together for everyone to see.” He goes off talking like a movie star. Virgil takes his hand back while Logan tells him to not talk with his mouth full. Patton just smiles.

“Yes while that would be a positive outcome, we need to finish it first,” Logan says, bringing Roman down to regular thinking again. Roman just huffs and throws his napkin at Logan.

“Childish.” Logan says and Patton giggles. There’s a smug look on Roman’s face knowing that Logan won’t retaliate. They finish their meal and pack up most of their things, each heading back to their respective desks.

Patton plops down, then jumps right back up to head up the stairs to find Roman. He skids to a halt in front of his door and knocks rapidly. Roman opens it with a flourish.

“What if they don’t make it?” He asks. Roman stares at him. Patton quickly explains his thoughts and Roman is screaming. Together they run down to where Logan is. He jerks when he hears them knocking on their door, though Roman just barges right in.

“I have an email you could have just told me that way,” He says. Patton looks a little sheepish but Roman brushes past that fact to explain their plan. Logan nods along and adds it to his notes. They run down to Virgil next.

“Can you draw tears?” Is all Roman asks when they get to his cubicle. Virgil glares at them and slowly nods his head.

“Yes?” He says tentatively. Patton squeals and runs off while Roman talks about who and how he wants them to cry, Virgil writes it down and does a quick test for Roman’s approval. When it’s all done he gives Roman an odd look.

“Logan just emailed me, why didn’t you?” He asks. Roman again, brushes past the question and in the end never answers.

“Wonderful, see you later,” He calls. Virgil rolls his eyes and goes back to work but there’s a smile on his face that matches the others.


	9. Chapter 9

When Roman doesn’t show up right away, Virgil offers to go and figure out what’s going on with him. He trudges up the stairs to where he thinks Roman’s office is. He never really had to leave his desk, he’s never actually seen so many people he supposedly works with before. 

The whole project originally started as a pain in the neck. He didn’t know who Thomas was to ask him to do such a thing with the others. Rarely talked to the others in the first place. The absolute wreck he had been before he opened the door still plagues him. He came late and didn’t talk to anyway, what were they supposed to do?

Luckily, and he considers himself really lucky in the aspect, they accepted him easily enough. He and Roman had their bits of idea scuffs at first, but they worked past it. Past it enough for Virgil to have that bit of worry in his stomach when Roman hadn’t barged in with a daring announcement. 

Finding Roman’s room is easier than he thought. He just follows the sound of angry Roman noises to an open door. He pauses with his hand raised to knock on the door, but the sight of the room truly stops him.

He knows Roman has a habit of being a mess, with his ideas in every direction. What he didn’t know is that Roman’s office space is in the same state of disarray. Papers everywhere and in every corner. There’s no floor showing with how many of them are scattered.

“What?” Is what he manages to ask. Roman pops up from behind the desk, on his knees to stare at him in panic. His hair is at odd angles and his suit is messed up.

“I can’t remember this detail, and I know I wrote it down, but it’s no where!” He yells and goes back to hiding, searching if the tossing of papers is anything to go by. Virgil steps over them quickly to where Roman is, just to step back when Roman stands abruptly in his face with a wild look in his eyes.

“I need to find it!” He exclaims. Virgil looks about him, almost searching for an exit but he knows that look in Roman’s eyes, they way they don’t settle. He forgets boundaries to reach up to smush Roman’s face between his hands.

“What can I do for you?” He asks as evenly as he can, trying to be that calm in Roman’s storm. Roman thankfully deflates a little, his shoulders sagging. 

“I need to find it,” It’s a whimper, or as close to one as Virgil has heard come out of Roman’s mouth. He lets go and begins to pick up the papers that are all over the floor. Seeing Roman in such a panic has him on edge as well. Normally he’s so calm and confident, seeing him so undone is weird. It sparks something in Virgil, a need to try and help him.

“What did this thing involve?” His eyes scan the papers, finding sentences and thoughts that they have incorporated into their project. Some are minuscule but others are part of the main story.

“Something about the real traitor,” Roman mumbles. Virgil leans back on his knees to where Roman has begun to throw papers out of the cabinets. Noticing the frantic look he stands to drop the papers to the desk and turn Roman around to smush his face again. Anything to get him to relax.

“Chill,” He says. Roman blinks at him, trying to glare but all it’s strength is lost by the fact his cheeks are squished. So he sighs and takes a deep breath with Virgil’s guidance. 

“We can find it,” Virgil’s voice is calm and even, knowing Roman needs something to drag him out of the clouds. So he takes the papers out of the files and reads what they say, only for Roman to shake his head.

“How about this one?” Virgil hands him a long detailed paper to read over. They have been searching for a while it’s a wonder why the other’s haven’t come looking for them both. Some papers only have colors written on them and shapes.

“THIS IS IT!” Roman jumps up from his seat on the desk. Virgil throws the papers he holds in his shock with his eyes glued to Roman. Roman dances around and pulls Virgil to him to spin him around before running out of the room. Virgil stands dumbly watching the doorway like it might do a trick. Roman coming back to peek his head in the doorway might as well be a trick.

“Let’s go!” He shouts and off he goes again. A snort escapes Virgil and he puts his hands in his pocket to walk leisurely to the conference room. Roman is already talking a mile a minute about his tiny idea that really burns into a big one.

“I love it~” Patton says dreamily with his face in his hands. Logan remarks on how it would tie the entire story together. Virgil stands in the doorway smirking to himself, watching them all. He had his doubts about this project. Plenty of course, some he internalized and never voiced. Somehow, with all of them making this work, making it work with him, eases those nerves for a blinding moment.

“Virgil!” Patton calls him and waves him over to the computer. Virgil goes without a second thought. The dashing smile Roman gives him only distracts him slightly.

–

“Hey!” Virgil pauses on the stairs to Roman calling for him. He looks up lazily with his bag slung across his shoulder. Roman stands tall and proud like he always does. He grabs Virgil’s hand when he gets close enough.

“I never thanked you earlier,” He says and Virgil scoffs though he can feel the nerves building inside him. He tugs his hand away but Roman doesn’t let go.

“It’s whatever..” He forces out and Roman shakes his head getting even closer to him.

“You really rescued me back there,” He goes on to say with that damn charming smile on his face. Again Virgil scoffs, unsure in every way what he’s supposed to be doing. Especially when Roman takes his hand in both of his and pulls it too him.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, anything, something no one else can do, please do not hesitate to come to me,” Roman actually kisses his hand and then sweeps away. Virgil holds himself tightly, not knowing what do to. He’s not even sure if what just happened, actually did just happen. It sends his mind reeling and his heart pounding.

“What the fuck,” He says to himself as if it would help. It doesn’t. He plops to his desk, the computer booting up for him. The music program is in his face right away.  _Something no one else can do._  With an idea, good or not, he sets to work on a new song.


	10. Chapter 10

“Excellent! What a wonderful day!” Roman claims. They end the session just like that on a high note. Logan collects his notes into neat piles, giving a quick small smile to Patton when he starts to help as well. They finish fast and Logan gives Patton a sharp nod in thanks.

“See you later Logan,” Patton calls to him as he heads down the stairs. Logan watches him go, only turning to go back to his office when Patton is completely out of sight. It’s a distracted walk to his desk he doesn’t really remember getting there. So he sits, and contemplates, and comes up with a plan.

13 times. That’s how many times Logan clears his throat. He does it one more time, adds it to the tally, and takes a sip of water to get rid of the feeling. He clears his throat again after anyway. 15 times. The plan he has come up with is not bad, just not his usual style.

Logan doesn’t get nervous. Very rarely at all. This however shakes him to the core and it’s annoying. There’s no reason to be feeling this way and yet his stomach is in knots. There’s no reason for it to be there in his mind and yet there it is. He adjusts his glasses. That little action he has lost count of.

Figuring that there’s no way to know for sure until he actually follows through he stands from his desk and starts the walk down a level. There’s a small scent of flowers once he get to the area he needs to be in. He steels himself properly, pushing up his glasses once more, then knocking on Patton’s door.

It opens quickly, Patton smiling at him somewhat shyly from behind the door. Logan forgets what he had planned to say.

“You okay Logan?” Patton asks softly and Logan nods dumbly, then shakes his head to make sure he can nod properly. He sighs.

“I was wondering, wanting to know, if you would like to join me for lunch?” He asks plainly, keeping his voice even as much as he can. Patton’s smile somehow gets wider and his whole body shakes happily.

“Yes just give me a moment,” He says hurriedly. He turns to his computer to save what he worked on and shut it down. The pure joy on his face that he gives to Logan once his office door is closed once more puts Logan in ridiculous state of senseless.

“Where to?” Patton asks as they head towards the front door. Logan clears his throat.

“I did not have a place in mind,” He admits. He did not plan this far ahead, though he knows Patton well enough by now that he would never reject an honest request such as the one he made. In hindsight he should have known for a fact Patton would say yes and planned accordingly.

“I know a place, it’s my favorite,” Patton links their arms and pulls Logan on. He says a simple agreement. He’s not sure of the place Patton guides him too but the atmosphere is distinctly something that would remind him of Patton. It’s a hole in the wall, pastel covered place.

“This is where I get lunches from when we have sessions,” Patton admits once they are sitting down at a small booth. Logan recognizes some of the food descriptions on the simple menu.

“It is a decent place as far as I know. It suits you,” He says. Patton giggles happily.

“I really, didn’t want to be in that office after our session today,” He admits, twiddling his fingers together. Logan raises an eyebrow, giving him a quizzical look. Patton begins to flounder.

“Well, I just, with you guys it’s so much nicer.” He goes on to explain. It makes enough sense for Logan but Patton goes on anyway.

“I feel somewhat wanted there,” That’s said softer than the rest of Patton’s words. It does not make sense to Logan. He folds his hands on the table to give Patton all of his attention.

“Why would you not feel wanted?” He asks. Patton flinches at the question and laughs awkwardly trying to get past without answering. He lifts his menu to hide his face. Logan slowly reaches across to lower the menu and see Patton with a bit of tears in his eyes.

“Hi,” Patton says as if he’s not crying. Logan stares at him then passes the menu to brush away a tear with his knuckle. Patton drops the menu to hold his hand tight and keep it to him.

“You do so much for us,” Logan tells him, wondering if it will help. Patton whimpers and there’s a part of Logan that shatters.

“I don’t feel like it. You plan so much and Roman has come up with all these ideas, Virgil works so hard for our animation..” Patton trails off. Logan squeezes his hand tightly.

“You think I would be able to plan without you telling to take a break and make sure I don’t over work myself?” He asks incredulously.

“None of Roman’s ideas would be as defined if you weren’t there to tell him how to make it better,” Logan continues on, not missing the way Patton’s smile carefully comes back to his face.

“Don’t think I don’t notice how much you help Virgil when he’s ready to panic.” It’s almost insulting in his mind. To think Patton doesn’t believe in his worth, ridiculous. Any one else could see how much Patton does for them, the fact Patton can’t however, ruins him inside.

“You think so?” Patton whispers into Logan’s hand that he’s still got very close to him. Logan nods sharply once.

“Entirely.” Is his answer.

“I wouldn’t tell you something if I did not believe so myself.” Patton giggles then and a weight is lifted somewhere. Logan is sure to keep hold of his hand.

“You are important to us.” Finally Patton looks up to him, a shy smile on his face though bits of tears are still in his eyes. Logan is able to put on a smile for him too. His smile falters just a little when Patton places a small kiss to his palm.

“Thank you,” He says but for Logan, it means more than he can really comprehend. His heart beats wildly and there’s a mental note tucked away telling him to invite Patton out more often.


	11. Chapter 11

Virgil is shaking. That much is obvious. His hands have almost ripped his papers in half. Roman is doing his best to calm him down, trying to tell him it will all be alright. It’s not working especially since Patton is freaking out as well. He’s smiling yes, but he’s frantic and all over the place. Logan is doing his best to calm him too, but the overt amount of restlessness is getting to him as well.

“You guys ready?” Thomas comes out a meeting room to talk to them. He’s proud of what they have accomplished, having seen what they came up with before hand. Roman is the only one who nods confidently and ushers them all in. 

The meeting table is filled with board members who work at the main building. They stare as they walk in and Roman may or may not walk in front of Virgil to block him from sight. Patton has a death grip on Logan’s hand behind their backs. They shuffle to the front of the room and freeze.

“Who is the animator?” The head of the table asks. Thomas is near the edge of the room in the back, giving them all an encouraging smile. Virgil audibly gulps and steps forward, trying to stand straight at having everyone look at him.

“Tell us about this project,” The head of table asks. Virgil nods and looks at his papers. He’s shaking too hard to really say anything. Roman carefully slips them out of his hands.

“Sir, if I may, the idea had been mine, I would be more adept to tell you about it,” He schmoozes, making to put Virgil behind him who shrinks, releasing a breath at not being fully seen. Logan reaches out a hand to him too and Virgil takes it tighter than Patton does.

Roman plays the board, telling them what they want and answering the questions better than any of them could. When they ask him however who created the story board, Logan steps up to explain his role. He talks about the way they came to the plot line and pilot episode, talking about characters as best they can.

“Interesting,” The head of table says. The others nod. Thomas gives them a thumbs up.

“Please play the pilot for us,” Is the next command. With a gentle reassurance from Logan, Virgil messes with computer provided to them to play the episode bit he has made. He stands awkwardly by the screen while it plays. The song he made for the theme song plays and he winces at his own voice.

“Well,” Says one of the other members once the video stops. Virgil is frozen, so the others go to him, gripping his arms to tell him it’s okay.

“That’s a new kind of idea,” Says another. Roman remains calm and collected except for the hand in his that he’s squeezing. If it hurts Patton doesn’t say anything.

“We can work with this,” Says the head of table. They turn to Thomas and he laughs. He goes to the four of them with a smile bright on his face.

“You guys did wonderful.” Roman laughs at the praise though its filled with nerves.

“Of course.” It’s supposed to be charming but Virgil snorts, relaxing now that the board members are leaving and it’s just them. Thomas laughs though, shaking each of their hands.

“I will have to tell the CEO what I found here, you might get a visit soon to talk to them about what is going on,” He says, and even though his words elicit panic, he says them nicely enough that it’s not too much panic. Patton gives him a hug when he leaves and his suggestion to get lunch together is unanimously agreed on.

–

Logan is not surprised to see the others waiting for him before they enter the conference room. He had of course read the email saying his team would meet with the CEO to discuss what is to happen to them. Virgil is shifting from foot to foot, a tell to how nervous he is.

“Ready?” Patton asks and his voice cracks. Logan sighs.

“I was born ready,” Roman brushes himself off and opens the door to the room for them all.

“Thomas!” Patton cheers once they see who is sitting inside. Thomas smiles to them all and gestures for them to take a seat. Next to him are two others.

“Glad you could join us, this is Joan and Talyn, my right and left hand persons.” He introduces. They smile and nod when addressed. Logan recognizes them from their pilot episode showing.

“We have talked about your show, and decided to push it to production.” Talyn informs them. Patton squeals and throws his arms over Logan regardless of who can see them.

“However, there is one thing that concerns us,” Joan stills the happiness with his statement. Logan and Roman share a confused look.

“Your positions on who did what were mixed,” Thomas explains to them. That causes some panic, realizing they should have done things differently, but had felt otherwise, told otherwise, by Thomas himself.

“So in regards to your jobs,” Thomas starts, pausing just enough to make them all wonder if they would be fired, but smiles warmly to them.

“As CEO I officially offer the positions that you did to you for an extended period to work on this show as a team.” The announcement lifts tension from the room. Virgil lowers his head to his hands, finally breathing again and the smile on Roman’s face is ridiculous.

“Serious?” He says. Thomas nods. Patton squeals again and tries his hardest to wrap them all in hug. It works when they all stand up to do so.

They get a schedule and a set group of rooms to work in day in and out to get their show up and running for multiple seasons. Patton is crying but it’s happy tears this time. Logan wordlessly hands him tissues. Virgil is still shaken, but having Roman’s arm over his shoulders seems to calm him.

“I’m just so happy I get to spend all this time with you,” Patton’s voice is cracking but he’s smiling. Virgil snorts and holds out a hand for him that Patton is quick to latch onto.

“This will be an adventure,” Roman looks off into an unknown distance smugly. Logan shakes his head but smiles fondly. He can let Roman be right, just this once.


	12. Chapter 12

Working together proved to be better than any of them expected. They managed to work through every issue with ease. Songs were written and voices were cast. The show proved to be a success with every twist gaining them new viewers.

Roman takes a deep breath, smugly watching the TV in the office as an episode is reviewed for show. With it’s approval it will be added to the list as a finale for season 4. It’s perfect as always.

“Your animation has just gotten better and better,” He whispers to Virgil as they watch. The other rolls their eyes, resting their head on their hand in just the right way to cover most of their smile. Roman is proud of the reaction, reaching under the table to tangle his fingers in between Virgil’s.

“Your ego has just gotten bigger and bigger,” Virgil hisses to him. Roman stifles a laugh to make it look likes he’s paying attention. When he gets the chance he glances at Virgil who is now smirking as well since his comment got the proper reaction. Once the video is over Roman is sure to pull him up and hold him tight.

“That was rude, how could you say such a thing?” He feigns injury. Virgil raises an eyebrow to him and bounces to his toes to peck a kiss to Roman and slip out of his arms in the distraction. Roman chases after him with no hesitation.

Sure it had been a rocky start, and it had taken a lot of effort to convince Virgil his feelings ran true, but eventually they came to an understanding of themselves. Roman won’t really tell anyone that most of the songs Virgil created are about them. It’s his own secret and as long as he can be with Virgil he’ll keep every secret.

–

“Are you ready for lunch?” Logan asks and takes a single step back to brace himself for the full force of body that is Patton flying into him for a hug. He returns the embrace plainly, fixing his tie afterwards. Patton giggles at him and nods.

“The usual place?” He asks and Logan holds out his arm for Patton to link them together. He returns the smile given to him easily now that he’s been doing so for so long.

“Of course,” Is his response. Patton shakes happily and talks about the others that he had talked to today, the rest of their small team and any issues they may have had. His voice is sweet and Logan won’t entirely admit to melting to the tone of it.

“You didn’t overwork yourself did you?” Patton stops him fully, staring at him with a pout on his face. Logan sighs.

“No I did not, I followed your advice like I always do and took a break every so often.” He admits. Patton smiles and kisses his cheek quick, then pulls him along.

It had been Logan who had confessed to having feelings first, an anomaly on it’s own, but he had also been the one to confess that having a working relationship would be a bad idea. Patton threw papers in the air and told him to live a little. So Logan stepped out onto the edge and lived a little. They filed for the proper paperwork at his request and signed them in glitter pens at Patton’s.

He held Patton’s hand the entire time he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this is moved over from my tumblr for ease of access. thank you for reading if you do! and yes, the cartoon they 'created' is steven universe.


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